CHAMPIONSHIP WEEK: Butler will make its first appearance in the storied BIG EAST Tournament when it faces #8 seed Seton Hall at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday, March 12. The 7 p.m. (ET) contest will be the opening game of the 10-team tournament and will be televised on Fox Sports 1. Butler (14-16, 4-14 BIG EAST), seeded ninth in the tournament, and Seton Hall (15-16, 6-12 BIG EAST) will be meeting for the third time this season and for the second time in five days. The two squads closed out the regular season at Butler on Saturday (March 8), and the Bulldogs claimed a 71-54 victory. Butler also won the first meeting this season at Seton Hall, 64-57 on Jan. 29. The Bulldogs enter the conference tournament with wins in their last two outings, their first back-to-back BIG EAST victories. The winner of the Butler-Seton Hall game will advance to meet #1 seed Villanova at noon on Thursday, March 13. The BIG EAST Tournament champion earns an automatic bid to the 2014 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship.

Butler has advanced in league tournament play in each of the past eight seasons.

GARDEN PARTY: The Bulldogs haven't played often in Madison Square Garden, but the famed arena has been the site of some special moments in Butler basketball history. At the top of that list is the 2006 NIT Season Tip-Off. Butler defeated #22 Tennessee, 56-44, at the Garden in the semifinals of the season-opening tournament and then captured the championship two days later with a 79-71 victory over #18 Gonzaga. The Bulldogs also made their first-ever appearance in the NIT against St. John's at the Garden in 1958 and then picked up their first NIT win there with a 94-80 decision over Fordham a year later. Butler's first win at Madison Square Garden came early in the 1948-49 season when the Bulldogs, led by Hall of Fame Coach Paul D. "Tony" Hinkle, defeated Long Island, led by legendary coach Clair Bee, 63-54.

Butler is 4-6 all-time in Madison Square Garden.

TOURNAMENT SHUFFLE: Butler is playing in its third different conference tournament in three years. The Bulldogs advanced to the semifinals of the Horizon League Tournament in 2012 and then reached the semifinals of the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament a year ago. Butler's last tournament title came in the Horizon League in 2011.

CLOSING EFFORT: Butler wrapped up the regular season with convincing wins over DePaul, 79-46, and Seton Hall, 71-56. The Bulldogs never trailed in either game and maintained a double-digit lead throughout the second half of both contests. Hot starts keyed both victories. Butler jumped to an 18-4 start at DePaul and led by 20 points, 38-18, at halftime against the Blue Demons. In the win over Seton Hall, the Bulldogs bolted to a 15-4 advantage and stretched the margin to as many as 20 points, before settling for a 40-30 halftime lead.

HEAT CHECK: Sophomore Kellen Dunham turned in the top shooting performance of his young career to spark Butler past Seton Hall in the final regular season game for both teams. Dunham hit 11 of 14 shots in the game, including all seven of his three-point attempts, and scored a game-high 29 points. It was the third-highest point total of his Butler career. The seven-for-seven shooting performance from beyond the three-point arc tied Butler's single game record for long-range marksmanship, originally set by Avery Sheets with a seven-for-seven effort against Cleveland State on Feb. 3, 2005.

SOPHOMORE RISE: Kellen Dunham became just the fifth Butler player to score 500 points in his sophomore season during Butler's victory over Seton Hall. He moved into fifth place on the sophomore scoring list with 504 points, 32 points behind current NBA player Shelvin Mack (2009-10) in the No. 4 spot. Dunham became just the 13th Butler sophomore to score 400 points in the Bulldogs' game at Georgetown earlier this season.

Kellen Dunham ranks seventh in the BIG EAST in scoring (16.8 ppg).

HONOR ROLL: Junior Alex Barlow was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll for the second time this season, following Butler's back-to-back wins over DePaul and Seton Hall. Barlow led the Bulldogs with a career-high 19 points, including 13 in the first half, in the victory at DePaul. He hit a career-best seven of nine shots from the floor, including a career-high four of five from beyond the three-point arc. Two days later, he tallied nine points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals to help lead the Bulldogs past Seton Hall. Barlow also earned a spot on the weekly honor roll after scoring 16 points in Butler's victory at Evansville in December.

CHART CLIMBING: Senior Khyle Marshall, who scored 18 points at DePaul and 10 against Seton Hall, heads into the BIG EAST Tournament ranked among the "Top 20" players all-time at Butler in both scoring and rebounding. He currently stands 17th on Butler's all-time scoring list with 1,351 career points, trailing Rylan Hainje (1998-2002) in the No. 16 spot, by 37 points. The 6-6 forward also ranks 16th on Butler's all-time rebounding list with 602 career rebounds. Marshall is one of 15 players in Butler basketball history to record 1,000 career points and 500 career rebounds.

BOARD ROOM: Junior Kameron Woods, who led the Bulldogs against Seton Hall with nine rebounds, stands 15th on Butler's all-time rebounding list with 607 career rebounds. He ranks just ahead of teammate Khyle Marshall on the Bulldogs' all-time rebounding chart. Woods ranks 13th on Butler's single season rebounding chart.

Kameron Woods leads the BIG EAST in rebounding (8.9 ppg).

ALL-BIG EAST: Sophomore Kellen Dunham became Butler's first All-BIG EAST player, when he was named second team on this year's honor squad. Teammate Andrew Chrabascz is Butler's first freshman to earn a spot on the BIG EAST All-Rookie Team.

BULLDOG BITS:

•Khyle Marshall has started 71 of Butler's last 72 games. He did not start on Butler's "Senior Day" a year ago. Marshall has 88 career starts at Butler.